After the end of a long-term relationship, I found solace in the easy love of pets. Lots and lots of pets. — When I was very young, I was afraid of dogs. Not just a little scared. I was petrified, the kind of fear that made me shriek and clamber onto the nearest table or chair or up a grown-up’s leg until I felt safely out of reach. Nothing had ever occurred…

Amongst my fellow snack seekers, I feel more at home than I ever have — Gas Pumps My relationship with my family hasn’t been comfortable for years. Part of reassessing “home” means wondering why, when I think of my family, I get stressed out; why it makes me want to go to a safe spot to consider comfort. In the wake of the election, like many others…

Kristen Arnett on passing through lenses and the photography of Diane Arbus. — The windowless library basement where I wrote most of my novel housed thousands of back issues of journals, magazines, and musty newspapers. Six other full-time employees worked alongside me in that giant room, processing books and performing routine database maintenance for patrons. The space also held a giant mural of…

Their father only had three dollars on him and he told them that, repeatedly. “That’s it, that’s all there is.” He opened his brown leather wallet like he was showing off an empty mouth. “You’ll have to share whatever you get.” Liana and Amber didn’t care. They wanted to buy…

I wrote a poem about a dead bird in the 6th grade and it won an award. I mean, I wrote a poem about a dead bird and my teacher liked it so she submitted it to a contest for me without asking. It was a very bad poem about…